Archive for February, 2013

Maybe music executives can finally stop singing the blues. Music piracy is on the decline, analysts say, while an industry group said digital music sales in 2012 drove global music industry revenues up for the first time since 1999.

It’s not a very big gain for the music industry — just 0.3 percent to $16.5 billion — but even that small uptick may be a sign that digital music has finally put the industry on the path to recovery. Digital music and services, the report said, grew 9 percent in the past year. That comprises digital downloads, as well as newer subscription services such as Spotify and ad-supported services including Pandora.

“No doubt, this is welcome news,” said Recording Industry Association of America spokesman Jonathan Lamy, who said over half of the industry’s revenues come from digital services now. “We are starting to turn the corner, and that’s great news for the business and fans.”Not only have free or low-priced streaming services given music lovers easy access to their favorite tunes, the NPD Groupfound in a separate study that broader access to music is also driving fewer people to download songs illegally. These services have gained some industry support because they allow consumers to get the music they want while still supporting artists, record labels and others in the industry.

In its annual music study, the analysis group found that consumers are sharing less illegal music across the board. Not only is the volume of illegally downloaded music files over file-sharing networks down 26 percent compared to the previous year, so is the number of people who burn and rip CDs, swap music files on hard drives and download music from digital lockers.

“It seems to happen every couple of years or every 10 years or every five years or whatever, you have a moment when it all comes together,” our Rob tells the Toledo Free Press. “Not that the other records are bad, but not every record can be like the most inspired event in your life. But for some reason, this one feels like it is. The songwriting, the sound of it, the vibe, the production — it’s special.” Read more interview here: http://bit.ly/XjCFrf

I don’t think I really need to introduce you guys to Morrissey, but just in case: He’s been an icon for, oh, more than three decades now. He began his career in the early ’80s as the frontman (and heart) of the Smiths before going solo in 1987, and he is notorious for not only his music, but also for his political activism, especially when it comes to animal rights (he cancelled a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight because the cast of A&E’s Duck Dynasty was also scheduled to appear).

Read more here: http://bit.ly/XiUZks

AMY ROSE: You started writing music when you were in your teens, and published books about James Dean and the New York Dolls when you were in your early 20s. What was your creative process like as a young person, and how has it changed?

MORRISSEY: Those weren’t books, just juvenile essays, and thoughtless rubbish at that. I had no creative process, just pain, which I mistakenly assumed might be creative process. Well, it wasn’t…

I think the way you address alienation in your music really resonates with your fans. Do you think a certain degree of loneliness enriches our lives? Is it OK, or even good, to feel alone?

Everyone is, in fact, alone. Being contractually tied to another person—in marriage, for example—accentuates the loneliness, because you have effectively allowed the state to determine your obligations to someone, as if you can’t trust and manage your own feelings by yourself. Anyway, I see humans as essentially solitary creatures, and this is not changed by surrounding ourselves with others, because they, too, are solitary. Life is a very serious business for the simple reason that nobody dies laughing.

What were your greatest aspirations as a young person, and would you say you’ve achieved them?

My greatest aspiration was to make it through the coming week. As a teenager I found life to be inevitably disgusting, and I could see no humanity in the human race. When my time in music began, I found all my goals were reachable. For the first time ever in my life, I spoke and people listened. I had never known such a thing previously. My life as a teenager was so relentlessly foul that I still can’t believe I actually survived it. Perhaps I didn’t…

What political causes mattered most to you back then, and are they still important to you now?

War, I thought, was the most negative aspect of male heterosexuality. If more men were homosexual, there would be no wars, because homosexual men would never kill other men, whereas heterosexual men love killing other men. They even get medals for it. Women don’t go to war to kill other women. Wars and armies and nuclear weapons are essentially heterosexual hobbies.

The most political gesture you can make is to refuse to eat animals. It was so when I was a teenager, and is still the case now.

What music or movies or artists do you recommend to your teenage fans today that they might not know about?

The arts have diminished, because we are now living through a time when we are encouraged not to think. No one making music wants to waste time struggling with art. A group like the Sex Pistols would never again be allowed to slip through, and there is no such thing in 2013 as a popular artist who sets their own terms for success. Whether it be Beyoncé or Justin Bieber, we see singers who have absolutely nothing to offer anyone as they walk offstage clutching three Grammys in each hand.

Many of your lyrics deal with self-preservation in a world that can sometimes be less than gentle. You strike a balance between acknowledging personal hardship and pain and fiercely appreciating beauty. What helps you to see the loving and good parts of life during tough times?

If I feel it, then others surely must. That’s the only thought that sustains me.

At the end of each of your shows, people rush the stage and try to hug you or hold your hand. You’re always very gracious about it in a way that many artists aren’t, but how do you feel about it?

In recent years I saw McDonna live, and no audience member reached up toward her to try to touch her. I see this so often with artists whom we’re told are global stars. It is a big lie. Or else, you might possibly be a big star, but you are not loved. My audience has an urgent need to touch, to shake hands, to move out of their seats, to defy so-called security, to make physical contact. They don’t simply sit and observe, but feel the urge to act. It’s a great compliment for me, and one that most Grammy winners could probably never imagine.

One of our readers said that she realized you two were soul mates when she noticed she was wearing the same color nail polish as you at one of your shows. I’m sure our teenage readers want to know: where do you find good cruelty-free products?

It isn’t difficult these days, because lots of companies have abandoned animal testing, mainly because they know people no longer want animal-tested products—for moral reasons, but also because of the logical realization that a test on an animal doesn’t have any bearing of how human skin will react to the same ingredient. [Some of the major companies] have started to turn their back on animal torture, and that’s very encouraging. And some companies—Clarins, for example—say they do not test on animals, but they won’t print this information on their products. But if there were any real concerns for public safety, then cigarettes, which kill most of their customers, would never be sold.

How would you describe the experience of writing your forthcoming memoir, and what do you hope readers will take from it?

I think autobiography is mostly self-worship, or personal mythology. In my case, self-disgust is the spur, which doesn’t mean it isn’t poetic or elevated or even funny.

What would you like to achieve, as a person and an artist, in the years to come?

I have no vision of the future. I never have. There is nothing to consider other than today. I’m saving tranquility for when I’m dead.

If you could tell your teenage self one thing, what would it be?

I am still my teenage self. If you think that we all step through a door marked Adult, or that we sign a Grown-Up Document, you’re quite wrong. We remain as we always were, and that, alas, is one of life’s many nasty tricks.

Stone Temple Pilots have fired singer Scott Weiland. The band broke the news this morning, issuing a statement that simply read: “Stone Temple Pilots have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland.” And while it’s not the first time Weiland’s been tossed out of a band (Velvet Revolver, anyone?), it’s still nonetheless surprising.

Soundwave festival will hit Australia this weekend, kicking off at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds tomorrow (February 23). It’ll then travel to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, before winding up in Perth on March 4.

For one night only Blink-182 gave 5000 Melbourne fans the chance to regress – and regress they did, writes SARAH SMITH.

There are dicks everywhere. The guy swaying in front of me has one tattooed on his forearm. The young girl beside him apparently wants Tom DeLonge to “suck her dick”. And I just un-ironically fist pumped along to ‘All The Small Things’, so I’m pretty sure that makes me a dick.

But here we are, 10 years since Blink-182’s last visit to Australia, and no one, not least the band themselves are leaving 1999 back where it belongs. Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus are playing to a sold-out venue, still dressed in jeans and skate shoes, still making jokes about their mum’s vaginas, still singing off-key. And, it isn’t the least bit depressing. For one night 5000 fans have permission to regress. And regress we do.

“This is a song from 1998, where are all my old people at?’ Hoppus smirks at the sticky crowd, having just sent the Sidney Myer Music Bowl into raptures with Blink’s ode to eternal youth and tonight’s somewhat ironic anthem, ‘What’s My Age Again?’

And what a weird bunch of fans we are. The great majority of the crowd are late-20s, edging 30. Tattered Blink tees are stretched over plump(er) bodies, charcoal has been rubbed under eyes, DC caps dusted off and long-closed over face-holes re-pierced – just for one night. At first, most people stuck up on the hill – or “the outback” as DeLonge coins it – are reluctant to get too excited, standing arms-crossed, nodding enthusiastically, but not too enthusiastically. That is until Hoppus yells, “This is for everyone that liked us before 1998”, at which point a guy wearing an Empire Strike Back t-shirt leads the charge, pumping the air frantically with both fists until everyone follows.

It’s hard not be caught up in The Mark and Tom Show. The pair literally never stop moving, swearing, grinning or talking. They are clearly having a stupid amount of fun, singing stupid songs to a bunch of people who just want to pretend for one stupid moment, that they are 15 again.

The banter is all still there too: A conversation about a bug burrowing into Mark’s neck soon digresses into a conversation about Sharon Stone’s crutch, which mutates into a familiar “Your Mum” tête-à-tête, until Hoppus concludes, “Nah dude, the bug reminded me of your dad biting on my neck with his hot, whiskey breath.”

Even though the set-list is almost identical to the Sydney show nothing feels rehearsed or rehashed. When DeLonge’s mic stand breaks, Hoppus entertains the crowd with an improvised bass-slap song about plectrums (I think) flicking a pocket-full of picks across the stage. After a few minutes DeLonge shoots him a smirk and mutters, “For 20 fucking years you’ve been doing that same creepy face.” It’s a strangely personal moment amid a whole lot of, well, dick – and one that hints at how happy Blink are to still be doing this together. Despite falls-outs, shit side projects and flightless drummers.

What’s our age again?

Blink 182 set list

Feeling This
Up All NightThe Rock Show
What’s My Age Again?
Dogs Eating Dogs
Down
I Miss You
Wishing Well
DisasterDumpweed
Always
Violence
After Midnight
First Date
Heart’s All Gone
Man Overboard
Ghost on the Dance Floor
All the Small Things
Josie

She hasn’t much to hold ontoShe keeping count on her hand One, Two, Three days
That I been sleeping on my side

I finished kissing my death, so now I head back up the steps
Thinking about where I’ve been, I mean the sun was never like this
I wanna feel with the season. I guess it makes sense
Cause my lifes become as vapid as a night out in Los Angeles
And I just want to stay in bed, and hold you like I used to
You know that I am home, so darling if you love me
Would you let me know…

Or go on, go on, go on, if you were thinking that the worst is yet to come
Why and I the one always packing all my stuff

For once, for once, for once, I get the feeling that I’m right where I
Belong
Why am I the one always packing all my stuff

She got enough on her mind
That she feel no sorrow
I let my fate fill the air
So now she rollin down her window
Never been one to hold on
But I need a last breath
So I ask if she remembers when
She used to come and visit me
We were fools to think that nothing could go wrong

Go on, go on, go on, if you were thinking that the worst is yet to come
Why am I the one always packing all my stuff

For once, for once, for once, I get the feeling that I’m right where I
Belong
Why am I the one always packing all my stuff
I think I kinda like it but I might of had too much

I’ll move back down to this western town
When they find me out make no mistake about it

I’ll move back down to this western town
When they find me out make no mistake about it

I’ll move back down to this western town…
Go on, go on, go on, if you were thinkin that the worst is yet to come
Why am I the one always packin all stuff

Go on, go on, go on, if you were thinkin that the worst is yet to come
Why am I the one always packin all stuff

For once, for once, for once, I get the feeling that I’m right where I
Belong
Why am I the one always packin all my stuff

I think I kinda like it but I might of had too much
And I’ll move back down…

Today would have been the Man in Black’s 80th birthday. Although he’s passed on, Johnny Cash remains one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and beyond. In honour of the outlaw icon, we’ve created a playlist that tells Johnny Cash’s story through his words and his music.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/ZH8KgS

His recording career and his relationship with his peers in Nashville were at an all-time low by the late eighties, however. He referred to himself in his autobiography as “invisible” during this period. But when the 1990s arrived, Cash came back to prominence through collaborations with U2, Joe Strummer and Rick Rubin‘s ‘American Recordings’ label. With Rubin, a new audience discovered Cash through his covers of artists like Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden and Depeche Mode.

Following the diagnosis of a neurodegenerative disease in 1997, Cash stopped touring, but he continued writing up until the final song he penned, ‘Like the 309’.

12 Great Johnny Cash Songs

Cash was known for his deep, distinctive voice, the boom-chick-a-boom or “freight train” sound of his Tennessee Three backing band, his demeanor, and his dark clothing, which earned him the nickname “The Man in Black.” He traditionally started his concerts with the simple introduction “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” Here is a list of the 12 greatest Johnny Cash Songs. Read more about Cash here: http://bit.ly/ZH8KgS

12. 25 Minutes to Go

Although Cash never did “hard time”, his songs often reflected the common, lower class, less fortunate man. This tune of the final minutes of a condemned man, is tinged with humor, but is ultimately very dark as the song never actually ends, but just trails off. Not a very popular song, but only one he could pull off. Best moment 2:08 (Johnny’s voice cracks)

11. Give My Love To Rose

This classic highlights another of Cash’s favorite subjects – death and redemption. A dying ex-con asks a man to pass on his dying words. The simple chords are so basic but so powerful. Best moment 1:10 (Tell my boy that daddy’s so proud of him) – so sad

Originally written by poet Shel Silverstien, the story of an abandoned boy and his run in with his father after years of abuse has so many great rhymes and vivid images. No chorus necessary on this crowd favorite. Best moment 1:18 (“My name is Sue! How do you do? Now you’re gonna die!”).

7. Cocaine Blues

This tragic story of a drug-addled murderer and his arrogance is a cautionary tale of drug abuse and inevitability of getting caught for your crimes. Best moment 2:24 (“I can’t forget that day I shot that bad bitch down”).

6. Don’t Take Your Guns to Town

A mother’s plea to her son in a dangerous time . No need to wait until the end of the song to figure out what is going to happen to our protagonist Bill. Best moment 00:24 (The pause before his mother’s first warning).

5. Orange Blossom Special

Here Cash sings about another old American tradition of days past – waiting for a loved one on a train. The guitars chug along to the tempo of a locomotive and Cash delivers with a killer harmonica. Best Moment 1:57 (I Don’t care if I do die do die do die do).

4. It Ain’t Me Babe

Beautiful duet with his wife June Carter which flips the traditional “I am the one you need” song, to a warning that he is not the man of her dreams. Interesting that he has his wife of so many years chose this song to do live so many times. Check out Johnny actually dancing in this clip! Best moment 00:50 (Naw, naw, naw! It ain’t me babe.)

3. I Walk the Line

Many people’s favorite. A song about true love and the promises made to one’s true love. No Cash list is complete without it. Best moment 1:20 (I’m a fooool for you).

2. Hurt

As odd as it sounds, this Nine Inch Nails cover would probably never have seen any airtime had it not been for this ultra-powerful video which shows Cash through the years, and finally as an old, tired, man. If this video doesn’t give you chills, no video will. Best moment (2:50 the spooky piano comes in).

You’ve heard (and certainly made) jokes about the striking resemblance between Tilda Swinton and David Bowie, particularly when the latter was in his glam rock period. It’s a fun little connection that, thankfully, both have fully embraced: they’ve shot a music video for the musician’s new single, “The Stars (Are Out Tonight),” which depicts the duo as a married couple being terrorized by those hoping to emulate Ziggy Stardust in look and sound. As directed by Floria Sigismondi, and with cinematography from frequent Fincher collaborator Jeff Cronenweth, it’s more akin to a song-accompanied short than traditional music video. Read more here: http://bit.ly/13fSnZU

The Next Day will be released in America on March 12, and the video can be seen below (viaDavidBowie.com):

When Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase announced the new LP, Karen O explained the new album is meant to stir up emotions. “We would love for this music to make our fans feelsomething, for it to stir some shit up inside of them, whatever that may be,” she said. “So much feeling went into this record, it was the rope ladder thrown down into the ditch for us to climb up and dust ourselves off.” If you don’t feel something at the 2:21 mark when the gospel hits, we’re not sure you ever will. Read more here: http://bit.ly/ZvLfDB